Most Podolsky miners to be transferred – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 24, 2013)

A joint union-company committee has saved the jobs of 65 production and maintenance workers at KGHM’s Podolsky Mine, which is scheduled to cease production on March 29.

The mine will go on care and maintenance for at least a year, and dozens of members of United Steelworkers Local 2020 will be transferred to KGHM’s McCreedy and Levack mine operations.

When the production halt was announced earlier this month, it was expected 70 people would lose their jobs. That number rose to 85 because there were workers at other KGHM operations doing jobs related to Podolsky.

As it stands, a maximum of 20 people will receive notices of layoff or potential layoff before Feb. 1, said Wess Dowsett, USW staff representative and area co-ordinator. “That’s pretty awesome,” said Dowsett, “and they’re still working to reduce that number even more yet.”

None of the 65 people being transferred will have their job classifications or their wages downgraded. While KGHM and the union may experience “a few bumps and burps,” both sides are committed to reducing the impact of the Podolsky closure, said Dowsett.

He credited the committee, comprised of three union members and three company employees, for their work.